NetDevil now a part of Gazillion Entertainment.

[Scorch]

Hey everyone, I wanted to make a quick post before the official announcements show up everywhere. This past July NetDevil became a part of Gazillion Entertainment and it has been something that has already been working to help make Jumpgate the best game it can be.

We’re here to make great games and listen to our fans in the community and this is what we love to do. In the past few years, NetDevil has grown beyond our wildest dreams, but also beyond our ability to run things as well as we’d like. We needed help to manage all the things that come with running a larger company, and we looked at many options. We finally found a partner that shares our vision of making great games and way you go about that (lots of focus testing, vertical slice development, iterate until things are great, and only release games when they are ready). We just want to be able to focus on what we do really well. Gazillion is helping behind the scenes with game operations including customer service and community management, as well as QA and security. All the supporting functions that help make a great game shine, like, marketing support, network operations, IT, legal, and publishing, have been significantly enhanced as a result of the deal. This frees up NetDevil to spend more time and attention on developing great games.

It’s very exciting for us to finally publicly announce what has been making NetDevil better for a long time now behind the scenes!

[Chubain]

Originally Posted by Scorch

This past July NetDevil became a part of Gazillion Entertainment and it has been something that has already been working to help make Jumpgate the best game it can be.

"Yet another big deal that Gazillion has is with toy maker Lego, which has licensed Gazillion’s studio, NetDevil, to develop LEGO Universe, an MMO where you can have fun, family-oriented adventures and build things creatively. Gazillion hasn’t disclosed until now that it’s the owner of NetDevil, which it acquired last year. LEGO Universe is expected to be finished in 2010.

Gazillion’s studios include Amazing Society, based in Issaquah, Wash., which is making the Super Hero Squad game and two other unannounced MMOs; Net Devil in Louisville, Colo., making both LEGO Universe, and Jumpgate Evolution and another unannounced game; Gargantuan in San Mateo, Calif., making the Marvel Universe PC and console MMO game; and Slipgate Ironworks in San Mateo, Calif., which is making an unannounced original MMO."


So am I correct to assume that you and the other prior owners of ND are now the minority owners or just employees? Why did you guys sell? I know you did it for money, but how does becoming a small part of a large company help you develop games? For now ND will work on Lego and JGE, but aren't you sacrificing the ability to choose which projects ND works on in the future?

My big concern upon hearing this news (and having not read any of the contracts) is that often when another company "partners" with a smaller company, the smaller company (aka Netdevil) loses its identity. For a few years the old owners (Scorch) stick around to show the employees and world everything is business as usual, but in reality that isn't the case. Eventually those old owners leave because they have a pile of cash in the bank and/or they don't like losing control over their company which they built from the ground up.

Chubain

[Scorch]

The reality is anything but that. We have already started work on a new MMO, completely of our design, and have had support from Gazillion to make that into something great as well.

I am here to make great games, what that translates to in a business sense is time and money to make sure we can make it great. This is something we now have more access to than ever before thanks to Gazillion allowing us to be part of the amazing company they have been building for some time now.

[Chubain]

Originally Posted by Scorch

The reality is anything but that. We have already started work on a new MMO, completely of our design, and have had support from Gazillion to make that into something great as well.

I am here to make great games, what that translates to in a business sense is time and money to make sure we can make it great. This is something we now have more access to than ever before thanks to Gazillion allowing us to be part of the amazing company they have been building for some time now.

Thanks for the response. I understand the need for capital which allows you time to be able to fully develop a game. I truly hope that Gazillion continues to support ND so that you are able to produce the quality games you want. Hopefully their support will result in a fabulous game that makes everyone money, so that they continue to promote this philosophy of taking the time and spending the money to create great games.

It is often difficult for management/owners to strike that balance between investing in corporate assets vs the desire to generate another revenue stream. I take it as a good sign that Gazillion is a privately held company. Hopefully the majority investors stay true to the long term vision.

Chubain

[Civilunit]

Alrighty, thats good to hear. I've never heard of them but a promise to wiki them sometime.

Hope that works out well for ya, onwards and upwards.

[sepomat]

I wonder, what are the details of the contract between ND and Gaz? As i see it right now, Gaz is able to completly screw everything by pulling a "Sony", means giving a game, or better forcing a game, to have their touch. Examples here are SWG NGE, Vanguard SOH and Planetside.

I think the Pros of this Partnership are pretty clear, but the cons are what annoys me. What if JGE isnt going to be a great sucess? Will/Can Gaz then just completly screw with the game (making it more for the retarted players than the causal), or can they just shut it down? Who is the real owner or JGE right now?


Yes i know, i bring the drama. But better me than someone goes "OHGOD NOES ENDOFWORLD". I can do that as well of course, is nessesary. :P

[Blkraven]

Sounds like they are behind the drive to make JGE casual.

This just helps confirm my concerns/worries.

All of these decisions are business related and just about every business out there in the current economy are looking for the quick buck and have less focus on the future.

Sounds like ND was hurt worse by the economic down turn than I originally thought.

[Chubain]

Originally Posted by Blkraven

Sounds like they are behind the drive to make JGE casual.

This just helps confirm my concerns/worries.

All of these decisions are business related and just about every business out there in the current economy are looking for the quick buck and have less focus on the future.

Sounds like ND was hurt worse by the economic down turn than I originally thought.

I think assuming Gazillion is behind the drive to make JGE casual-friendly is naive. Gazillion can be the new scape-goat if that makes people feel better. Blk, every company wants to make a buck regardless of the economy. I think ND has matured as a company. They are no longer the small team working in someone's basement. They have to be concerned with making a game that appeals to more gamers. Small niche games are great, but why not make a big niche game and hopefully make some money.

My guess is that the company (Netdevil) grew to a point but couldn't get any bigger and couldn't afford to develop games as fully as they want too without outside investors OR Gazillion approached them showing interest in acquiring the company. Gazillion approaching ND is the most likely scenario. ND has been content all these years to develop games as a small independent company, so I'd be surprised if they went out actively to find a buyer.

Regardless of how it happened, ND probably explored bringing in a new owner(s) to join the current ones, but realized that still wouldn't provide the cash the need to grow/develop games the way the want too. I bet the option of taking on debt (large line of credit) also didn't provide sufficient cash for their goals. This left them with the Gazillion offer.

It is possible that ND was in trouble and needed a cash infusion ASAP or else they would have folded, but we'll never know the exact situation. I hope ND was in a better situation then that, but I honestly couldn't even guess at their revenue streams (JGC doesn't count) right now. I always assumed that the LEGO game provided the bulk of their cash inflows, but who knows. JGE development and size of the development team makes a lot more sense now with new owners.

If the owners of ND sold the majority ownership to Gazillion to give the company a big cash infusion so that the company could then afford to develop games over a longer development cycle to ensure a great product, I'm hopeful this new ownership situation will work out. If ND was a fire house sale because it was either sell or shut down, I'm much more concerned.


Chubain

[zenojin]

ND has been my favorite game company ever since I discovered JGC and I'm glad Scorch is moving things forward with better resources and I hope they bring all the rest of the game companies to their knees especially SOE, SOE sucks! If ND ever has anything to do with SOE I will cry real tears

[Blkraven]

@ chubain

I understand why things are happening even without the details. Auto Assaults failure hurt them worse than just about any of us know. It all goes back to the reputation thing i discussed in my other thread.

I have been praying for years that a game would come out that i would be happy playing for years to come. I thought that was JGE. Now in the past month my hopes have been beaten, run over by a bus, and spit on.

I left those other casual games because of the exact same things ND is putting into JGE. I have already stated JGE will NOT receive significant updates of content to keep a casual game afloat and now learning that not only do they have LEGO universe which is slated for a 2010 release they also have another they have started working on. Just leads further credence to the theory that JGE will not receive the care it needs to maintain a casual player base in the long run.

Anyone with an eye on the industry can see that. Releasing a viable mostly bug free product is only half the battle with an MMO. people are willing to pay for MMOs because either 1 they love the game and pride in their accomplishments or 2 constant change through updates.